


Come Here, Soldier

by Lyri46



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23945536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyri46/pseuds/Lyri46
Summary: When Tony lands with Nebula it takes all of Steve's self control not to run away with the inventor. But Steve left Tony in Siberia, and no one knew the two of them had been in a relationship. Can Steve earn back enough of Tony's trust for them to face and defeat Thanos without losing anyone else? Or are there some things even Tony Stark can't repair?An End Game AU from when Tony and Nebula land at the facility.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 30
Kudos: 65





	1. Coming Home

‘Do you think we should go check on him?’

‘He’s been gone nearly an hour, he just said he wanted a shower, how long does it take to shower?’

‘What if he’s collapsed?’

‘FRIDAY would have told us.’

‘Maybe I should-’

‘I’ll go,’ Steve says, standing up. ‘It might give us chance to…’ He doesn’t finish, he doesn’t need to. Everyone in the room knows that he and Tony need to talk. No one knows the true extent of why.

Ever since Tony had walked off that spaceship with Nebula supporting him, and the genius had collapsed into his arms it’s taken every shred of his self-control not to pull the shorter man back to him.

‘Just…try to keep the noise levels down,’ Bruce sighs. ‘And don’t get him too worked up, he’s in pretty bad shape, Steve.’

‘I know,’ he swallows and moves to the corridor which will take him to the room Tony is using. Every step his heart pounds a little faster, and he finds it a little harder to breathe. When he finally reaches Tony's door his hands are shaking as he knocks. ‘Tony?’ he calls when there’s no answer.

‘Fuck off,’ comes a quiet reply, which Steve wouldn’t have heard if not for his enhanced hearing.

Steve closes his eyes for a brief moment, and then opens the door, walking in and then closing it softly behind him.

‘Do you not understand the meaning of the phrase “fuck off” now or something?’ Tony’s voice is still quiet, he’s sitting on the end of the bed, still wearing what he came off the ship in, staring down at his hands.

‘I couldn’t just leave you in here, Tony.’

It’s a harsh laugh that scrapes past the inventor’s lips. ‘But you could in Siberia?’

That hurts, but Steve knows he deserves it. ‘Tony-’

‘-save it, Cap. I don’t want to hear any of it. You left. You _left_ , Steve. You left me, without a backwards glance, with someone else. Why the _fuck_ do you think I want to hear _anything_ you have to say?’

‘I don’t,’ he manages to get past his dry throat. ‘You don’t have to listen to anything I say, Tony. I just…I wanted to see if you were…I…’ He can’t finish any of his sentences, everything he starts trying to say sounds so wrong and meaningless.

‘I couldn’t even tell Rhodey everything I was feeling,’ Tony sniffs. ‘No one knew about us, Steve, how could I explain how much it hurt that you left me there and walked away with someone else when no one knew what we were to each other?’

‘I can never make it right, Tony,’ Steve takes a few steps towards him, ‘I know I can’t. I’m not asking to. I’m not asking for you to take me back, not when you’re building a new life with Pepper, not when you’ve got everything you deserve within your grasp. I just…when you came off that ship and I saw you alive I just wanted to hold you again, and…’

‘I can’t wash them,’ Tony says eventually, holding up his hands but still not looking up at Steve. ‘I can’t wash them, Steve, because if I wash them I’m washing the last bit of him away and I can’t do it.’

‘Who, Tony?’ Steve sits next to the inventor now, desperately fighting against the bile rising in his throat as he wonders who this mystery ‘him’ is that may have taken his place in Tony’s heart.

‘Peter,’ Tony’s voice cracks, ‘Spider-Man.’

‘The kid from Germany? The one from Queens?’

Tony nods. ‘He got on the ship with me, he followed me even though I _told_ him to go back. Damn stubborn kid. When we watched the others dusting he must have known what was going to happen to him because he…he was asking me to help him…he said he didn’t want to go and I…I couldn’t stop it, I couldn’t help him…and then,’ Tony’s breath catches, ‘he told _me_ he was sorry. He apologised to _me_ when I was the one who couldn’t save _him_. I…’

Tony finally looks up at him and Steve’s heart breaks. There’s so much pain in those brown eyes that he does the only thing he can do. Steve reaches up, cupping one of the bloodied cheeks with his hand, running his thumb over the dry, chapped lips.

‘I never stopped wanting you,’ Tony admits, ‘and I hate you so much for that.’

‘I still love you,’ Steve whispers, ‘I didn’t leave you for him Tony, I always wanted to come back to you, I just didn’t know how.’

‘I know, I think if you’d left me to restart a relationship with someone else I could have handled it better, but knowing it wasn’t that just made it harder.’

‘Come on,’ Steve moves his hand down to take hold of Tony’s, ‘we need to get you washed or you could end up worse than you already are.’

‘I can’t-’

‘Come on, Tony,’ Steve stands up, pulling Tony to his feet, ‘I need to get you fit enough to fight, because this,’ he holds up the inventor’s hands, ‘is not going to be the last bits of Peter, alright? We are going to get you clean, you are going to rest up and then we are going to get what’s left of this team together and we are going to go hunt down this son of a bitch and we are going to get _everyone_ back.’

Tony hold’s Steve’s gaze for a few moments. ‘You really don’t ever stop with those goddamn speeches do you?’

‘This isn’t a speech,’ he replies, ‘this is a promise. _My_ promise to you, Tony.’

Tony looks away, blinking at the tears gathering in his eyes. ‘Not sure how I feel about that. You’ve made a lot of promises to me before.’

Steve turns Tony’s face to him again. ‘This is one that I am not going to break, not while there’s still breath in my body.’

He nods. ‘Alright.’

‘Come on,’ Steve gently leads Tony to the bathroom, sitting him down on the toilet while he starts the water running into the bathtub. ‘Didn’t think you’d feel up to standing?’

Tony shakes his head. ‘Bath’s fine.’

He’s still worried about how easy it is for him to lead the genius around, but decides to face one problem at a time and, as the tub fills with water, he gently helps him undress, though he pauses before helping him take off his underwear.

‘Come on, Steve, not like you’ve never taken them off before,’ Tony says, but despite his attempt at humour it falls short as his tone is too flat.

‘Didn’t think I still deserved to do it without checking,’ he replies, and is relieved Tony doesn’t ask as he reaches to turn the water off before helping him stand up again, and helping him out of his underwear before getting him into the tub.

Steve moves Tony’s hands away from the shampoo, picking the bottle up himself and squirting it into his hands, lathering it into Tony’s hair and massaging into his scalp.

‘What are you doing, Steve?’

‘What I should have been doing for years,’ he admits, ‘and taking care of you. I know it’s selfish but I just want this last chance to do right by you, Tony, because as soon as we step out of this room I lose you to Pepper. I just want one last memory before I do.’

Tony doesn’t argue, doesn’t say anything else, just let’s Steve continue his ministrations. Slowly, very slowly, the genius relaxes as Steve focuses on getting rid of the grime and dried blood from his body until he’s finally clean and Steve can pull out the plug, letting the filthy water flow down the drain as he reaches for a towel. He doesn’t let Tony stand up, just bends down and scoops him up out of the tub, wrapping the towel around him and taking him back to the bed.

‘Stay here,’ he tells him, voice soft, and goes to get the first aid kit. Neither of them speak when he returns and starts tending to the various wounds on Tony’s body. When he finishes its Tony that breaks the silence.

‘Steve,’ Tony takes hold of his hands, stopping him from moving away, ‘I…I need to give you something. Can you get the reactor from my shirt?’

Steve just nods, taking the kit back to the bathroom and collecting the shirt from the floor where he’d left it folded, bringing it back to the inventor. Tony takes it from him and, with shaking hands, presses on the reactor. It opens up, revealing a hidden compartment that had never been in any of the previous ones.

‘I couldn’t get rid of it,’ Tony admits, pulling something out from the centre and letting the shirt fall to the floor. ‘And I wanted it with me just in case we ever saw each other again and…well…’

Steve tries desperately not to cry. In Tony’s palm sits the ring that the inventor had given him not long before everything had happened with the Accords. It’s a plain, dark blue band with a silver stripe running through it. Tony had given it to him when he first told Steve he loved him. Steve had dropped it with the shield in Siberia, knowing he deserved the ring even less than the shield after what he’d done.

‘Please take it,’ Tony pleads.

‘I don’t deserve it.’

‘I still love you.’

Steve can’t help it. At those words he leans forwards and kisses the man in front of him, wrapping his arms around him and bringing him close. He knows it’s messy. They’re both crying and desperate, but it’s the first time he’s kissed Tony in years and it feels perfect.

‘Please take it,’ Tony repeats when they pull apart, still so close together that Steve can feels his lips moving against his own. Steve nods, looking down and taking the band from Tony’s hand and slipping it back on his finger. ‘Steve?’

He looks up at Tony’s nervous question and loses himself in those brown eyes all over again. No matter how many times he’s looked at him, Steve can never get enough of those eyes. Tony’s face might be a perfect mask, especially to the media, but Steve’s always been able to read everything in his eyes. Tony’s hand goes to the back of his neck, pulling him closer for another kiss, the other goes to the front of his shirt, clenching in the fabric and pulling him forwards as Tony lays back on the bed.

‘Tony?’

‘Please, Steve,’ his voice is breathless, ‘I’ve missed you. I just…I want you.’

‘Someone could walk in, they may come looking for you and we can’t-’

‘If FRIDAY is half as well programmed as she should be she’s already locked the door and will let the others know not to disturb us. Come here, soldier.’

_Come here, soldier._ It was the line Tony always used on him that made his resolve crumble and had him dancing to any tune the inventor wanted to play. Every protest and argument he has against this dies on his lips as Tony pulls him forwards into another kiss, and those talented fingers find their way under the fabric of his shirt. His name falls from Steve’s lips like a prayer and a plea at the same time, and he lets Tony pull his shirt over his head.

* * *

‘She knows, you know,’ Tony says as they lay together on the bed, legs tangled together and Tony half laying on Steve tracing intricate patterns on his chest that only Tony could understand the meaning of.

‘What?’

‘Pepper,’ he sighs, letting his hand fall flat over Steve’s heart, ‘she knows I’ve been in love with someone else. I never told her. I didn’t need to. She’s always known me too well, but we both slipped into something we could both be content with.’

‘Tony, what are you saying?’

‘I’m saying,’ Tony leans on his other arm so he can look at Steve easier, the determination back in his face and taking his breath away. ‘I’m saying that if you really do still love me Steve, if you are serious this time that you want to be together that Pepper isn’t going to be surprised when I tell her. So what I want to know is this: do you still love me enough to want to be with me?’

‘Yes,’ Steve doesn’t hesitate in his breathless answer, feeling his heart speed up with anticipation.

There’s a small, genuine smile on Tony’s face now. ‘Alright,’ he presses a kiss to Steve’s lips that he has to resist chasing when Tony pulls away. ‘Then I have two conditions.’

‘Alright?’

‘The first is that if you want this then we do it properly this time and we don’t hide away. I’m not ashamed of us, Steve, I never have been. I don’t care about any bullshit you might try and say about it maybe making dynamics in the team weird, we go public and to hell with-’

‘Yes,’ Steve cuts him off. ‘Yes, Tony, we will.’

‘Huh,’ the dark haired man raises his eyebrows at that, ‘I was genuinely expecting more of an argument over that one considering everything before.’

‘I didn’t do right by you then,’ Steve sighs, ‘I’m fixing that this time around. No more hiding what we feel, we do it all out in the open for everyone to see.’

‘Well,’ Tony grins, ‘maybe not _everything_ Steve. There are laws against that you know.’

Steve blushes, making Tony laugh. ‘You know what I mean.’

Tony kisses him again. ‘Yeah I do. I love you.’ 

‘I love you.’ Steve repeats. ‘What’s the other condition?’

‘We don’t tell anyone until we get back from defeating Thanos,’ he says, ‘I just…we don’t know what’s going to happen Steve, and some of us might not come back. If I’m one of them I don’t want Pepper to feel unloved. I don’t want her last memories of me to be of me leaving her. I want them to be of me loving her.’

Steve holds Tony’s gaze for a few moments then nods. ‘I understand. When we come back, when we get everyone back, then we’ll tell everyone. Pepper first.’

‘Thank you.’


	2. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers face Thanos in a desperate attempt to reverse the snap.

‘Thought you said this would be simple?’ Clint’s voice comes through the comms. ‘And I quote Cap: “It’ll be simple. Find Thanos, take him by surprise, get the stones and bring everyone back.” This is not simple, Cap. We need to have a conversation about what the word “simple” means.’

Tony sniggers. ‘He’s got you there, Cap,’ he says as he blasts a couple more enemies with his repulsors. Landing near Steve he powers up the reactor in his chest, sending a blast towards the soldier that the blond reflects with the shield, clearing the enemies around him.

They’d landed on this planet, Thanos’ retirement plan as it had been lovingly referred to, the original six Avengers, with Rhodey, Carol, Rocket and Nebula alongside them, and faced Thanos. The gauntlet he’d used to harness the power of the stones was fused to his arm and he’d been about to use it once more: to destroy the stones and any hope they had of reversing his snap. Unfortunately there had also been the remnants of his army with him.

The others had engaged the army, while he, Steve and Thor had faced Thanos, hoping to get the gauntlet from him. It hadn’t gone so well. Hence why he and Steve are now in the middle of fighting the army with the others.

‘We really do need to stop taking on entire armies when it’s just us,’ he points out, taking to the skies once again. ‘Anyone seen Thor?’

‘Been kind of busy looking at a load of uglies,’ Natasha responds.

‘Hey! Mr Stark!’

Tony nearly falls out of the air. ‘No way. Kid?!?’ He spots a _very_ familiar form below him and lands in front of the teenager. ‘Where’d you come from?’

‘Well we all appeared back on Titan and then Doctor Strange started doing his fizzy magic thing and said we had to get back to Earth and get everyone else because you guys would be up here and need some help. So we went back to Wakanda, which by the way is _incredible_ and I _really_ want to go back there when we’ve finished here, and got everyone else and now we’re here to help you guys fight Thanos and there are a _lot_ of bad guys here by the way. So what- oh,’ Peter stops his rambling as Tony pulls him into a tight hug, ‘this is nice.’

‘Steve you seeing what I’m seeing?’ Natasha asks.

‘Yeah, Nat, I am,’ Steve laughs.

‘On your left, Cap,’ Sam says through their newly linked comms, and comes flying over Tony and Peter’s heads.

‘We better get back to the fight, Stark,’ Strange says, landing next to him, ‘Thor will need our help after snapping us back.’

‘Where is he?’ Tony asks as Steve joins them, tightening the straps on his shield.

‘He should be where you left Thanos,’ Strange says, ‘we shall join the others, you and the Captain should go and find him.’

‘This all part of your “one chance” scenario?’ Tony asks.

‘So far,’ Strange nods.

‘Good luck, Mr Stark,’ Peter says, ‘hi again Captain Rogers sir.’

‘Uh, hi kid?’ Steve blinks over at Tony as the two run off. ‘Is he always like that?’

Tony laughs, the first real laugh since all this started. ‘Yeah, yeah he is.’

‘Ready to go save Thor?’

‘Need a lift?’ Tony grabs hold of Steve, lifting both of them into the air and heading towards the hut where they’d left Thanos.

‘Tony your comms off?’ Steve asks.

‘They are now. Why?’

‘Just…I love you.’

‘I love you too, soldier. Now let’s go kick some Titan ass.’

‘Tony! Thor’s down.’

‘Shit!’

Steve’s right. Thor’s down on the floor, Mjolnir resting out of reach as he struggles to hold the sword Thanos is pressing towards his chest away from him. His left arm has the gauntlet, which has fused to his arm, and is laying useless at his side.

Tony sets Steve down then flies towards Thanos. ‘Hey! Ugly!’ Thanos turns and knocks him to the side, sending him spiralling as he attempts to right himself. ‘Dammit,’ he curses as he loads up his repuslors. ‘Get off my friend you overgrown action toy.’

Then Mjolnir comes flying into the back of the Titan’s head, knocking him off balance.

Then it goes flying _back_ the way it came and into Steve’s outstretched hand.

‘I knew it!’ Thor laughs from where he still lies on the ground.

‘Wow,’ Tony breathes, ‘now _that_ is something I didn’t think I’d be seeing today.’ He goes to Thor’s side. ‘How you doing big guy?’

‘I think,’ the god of thunder replies, ‘I may have one more snap left in me.’

‘What you planning?’ Tony asks. ‘Tell me how much time you need.’

‘As long as you can give me. If this works I can wipe out our enemies and return Asgard.’

‘Go for it Point Break. We’ll give you all the time we can.’

As Thanos knocks Steve flying sideways Tony lands on his back, sending out the nanites to form a mask covering the Titan’s eyes. ‘Ever heard of a game called Blindman’s Bluff?’

‘I grow weary of your constant chattering. Next time I shall ensure the entire human race is wiped out,’ Thanos grumbles, ripping the nanites from his face and throwing Tony off. Just as Steve hits him with an uppercut from Mjolnir.

‘I feel like I should have some comment ready about your new hammer, but I’m a little busy right now.’

Steve laughs. ‘There’ll be plenty of time for that later.’

‘Guys? You seeing this?’ Clint asks through the comms. They turn to see Thanos’ army disappearing just as their friends had a few days before.

‘He’s done it,’ Tony breathes, looking over to Thor. The god is curled in on himself, his left arm lying on the ground next to him. ‘Thor!’

‘We got him Tony,’ Natasha says, appearing next to the god. ‘You two handle Thanos.’

‘I got him,’ Carol says, landing next to them and channeling her power at the Titan.

‘Need a hand, Captain?’ Steve says, sending lightning from Mjolnir to join her power. Tony stands next to him, charging his chest reactor to add to the power. It’s too much for the Titan to fight off, and he goes soaring backwards to land in a crumpled heap at the foot of a wall.

‘Who wants to do the honours?’ Tony growls as the rest of the team joins them.

‘Let Nebula and Gamora,’ Thor groans from his place next to Natasha. ‘They should be the ones to end it.’

Nebula walks forwards, a green skinned woman next to her who Tony supposes is the infamous Gamora.

‘So,’ Thanos groans, ‘it is my daughters that will be the end of me?’

‘Do you want to do it?’ Nebula ignores the Titan and asks Gamora.

‘We should do it together,’ is the reply, as Gamora takes out her sword.

‘Very well,’ Thanos says. ‘So you take my children from me, I shall take yours from you.’

Tony feels that everything goes in slow motion as he sees Thanos lift his hand, the concealed knife now in plain view, and he sends it flying towards Peter, whose face is no longer covered by the mask of his suit.

‘Peter!’ he doesn’t think, he just moves in front of the teenager, the knife piercing through his armour and he feels it sink deep into his stomach.

‘Tony!’

‘Mr Stark!’

‘No!’

There’s lots of shouting, lots of noise as he hits the ground. He rolls, the movement making the knife dig deeper into his stomach, pulling it across to rip more muscle. He thinks he hears a grunt and the sound of something hitting the ground, but he’s face down in the dirt.

Then there’s hands on him, rolling him onto his back. His head is being held by someone and there’s more shouting. His stomach is on fire and it gets worse when he coughs.

‘Steve?’ where’s Steve. If this is going to be it for him he wants to see his soldier.

‘I’m here, Tony, I’m here. Just hang on, alright? Strange is going to try and help, and we’re getting a portal ready, T’Challa’s sent for Shuri, she’ll be able to help you. Just hang on a little longer alright?’

‘Where’s Peter?’

‘Mr Stark?’ he can hear the tears in the teenager’s voice, then his brown head is in his vision. ‘Mr Stark why did you do that?’

‘Just remember to keep your mask up alright?’ he says instead, smiling as much as he can as another cough wracks his body. ‘Can’t be losing you now we just got you back.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please Mr Stark, just hang on. Don’t go. Please.’

‘You’ll be alright, kid,’ he reassures him, finding it more and more difficult to focus on individuals. ‘This is a good team, they’ll have your back.’

‘Tony, stay with me!’

‘There’s that Captain voice,’ Tony chuckles. ‘You trying to give me orders again?’

‘Hoping you might actually follow one for once,’ Steve says, and Tony manages to focus enough to see tears in those blue eyes.

‘I’ll do my best.’

‘Don’t make me break my promise, Tony,’ Steve pleads, ‘I told you we’d get everyone back. That includes _you_ , Tony.’ Steve lowers his head close to Tony’s, resting their foreheads together, so all he can see is Steve. ‘We got a life to start remember? Don’t leave me now, love, _please._ ’

‘Come here, soldier,’ he whispers, beginning to lose his vision, ‘hold on to me. Keep me with you.’

‘Tony!’ is the last thing he hears, seemingly through water, as his vision blacks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: All I can say is: I'm sorry and I love you all.  
> Love always,  
> L x
> 
> And here's the sneak peek (again I'm sorry and I love you all):
> 
> Steve fumbles with the tie at his neck, his fingers shaking with thoughts on what he’s about to do. ‘Dammit!’ he curses as the material once again slips through his fingers.  
>  ‘Come here,’ Sam sighs, coming to stand in front of him wearing a matching black suit, ‘honestly, Cap, I thought you’d done this millions of times.’  
>  ‘Yeah,’ Steve admits, ‘but Tony would always change it anyway.’ His voice catches a little on the inventor’s name.


	3. Endings and Beginnings

Steve fumbles with the tie at his neck, his fingers shaking with thoughts on what he’s about to do. ‘Dammit!’ he curses as the material once again slips through his fingers.

‘Come here,’ Sam sighs, coming to stand in front of him wearing a matching black suit, ‘honestly, Cap, I thought you’d done this millions of times.’

‘Yeah,’ Steve admits, ‘but Tony would always change it anyway.’ His voice catches a little on the inventor’s name.

‘Hey,’ Sam gives him a small smile, ‘you got nothing to worry about, remember?’

‘Yeah I just-’

‘-he just likes to fuss,’ Bucky snorts as he comes into the room, accompanied by Natasha who is looking absolutely stunning in a royal blue dress.

‘Honestly Steve why are you so worried?’ the red head laughs, putting his button hole in his lapel. ‘You look amazing.’

‘So do you, Nat, you look beautiful,’ he smiles at her.

‘Pepper’s in with him now, I imagine he’s in a worse state than you are,’ she laughs, straightening his jacket and tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. ‘Now do you want to be out there waiting for him or be the last one out?’

‘Don’t give him the choice,’ Bucky laughs, putting his arm around Natasha’s waist and pulling her against his side. They’d been an item for a few months now and Steve has never seen the two of them happier, it’s been a relief that something good has grown out of what happened with Thanos. ‘Just tell him to move his ass and go stand out there. Besides,’ he says to Steve, ‘you can distract yourself by saying hello to all the poor sods who have come out to see you guys _finally_ get hitched.’

‘You’re such a jerk,’ he punches the other super soldier on the arm, ‘you guys didn’t even _know_ about us until a year ago.’

‘Hey I’ve been waiting for you to get hitched for a hundred years,’ Bucky protests. ‘Do you know how long I’ve been writing this best man speech?’

‘Stop it,’ Natasha nudges him, ‘can’t you see he’s already turning green? Don’t make him more nervous than he already is.’ She smiles at Steve. ‘Don’t worry I’ve read the speech. You’ll be fine.’

‘I’m not sure if that actually makes me feel better,’ he admits, Sam snickering behind him.

‘Come on, Cap, let’s get out there and say hi to everyone,’ the shorter man says, clapping a hand on his shoulder and steering him out the door.

Steve admits this is probably the best idea. They’ve rented out the whole of the registry office to hold the ceremony so it’s just the Avengers and a couple of additional friends that are here, all dressed in their finest. Even Nebula has changed into something less combat worthy for the event, which Steve is strangely touched by; next to her Gamora looks stunning in a skin-tight dress that he’s pretty sure is the reason Quill is drooling.

‘Well, Cap, I guess congratulations are in order,’ Fury says stepping forwards to greet him.

‘Thank you, sir, though you may have to wait until after the ceremony. At the moment I feel like I may faint half way through.’ Bucky laughs behind him and Steve digs an elbow into the soldier’s gut, earning himself a groan.

‘You deserved it,’ Natasha tells him.

‘I will admit I wasn’t overly surprised when I found out you two were together,’ Fury shakes his head, ‘I just wonder why it took you so long to get there.’

‘You and me both,’ Clint grins as he joins them, ‘if they’d done it a couple of years sooner I would have won my bet with Nat.’

Natasha laughs. ‘You had _way_ too much faith in those two being adults.’

‘Gee thanks guys,’ Steve rolls his eyes.

‘Steven!’ Thor greets him with a one armed hug, his cape flowing out behind him. ‘Congratulations on the day of your union!’

‘Thor unhand him before you make him have to visit the healing rooms before the ceremony,’ Loki sighs from behind his brother, offering Steve a smile when he’s free. ‘Congratulations Captain.’

‘Thank you,’ he smiles back at the trickster. When Thor had snapped Thanos’ army from existence he had also returned all of Asgard to existence that had been destroyed by both the Titan and by their half-sister. Loki had apparently been waiting on the Bifrost to greet his brother when he returned. If Thor is to be believed there were many tears shed as the brothers reunited. Loki’s version is a little more realistic if anyone were to ask Steve’s opinion. When he isn’t trying to take over the world the trickster is actually quite entertaining to be around.

‘Captain,’ Strange greets him as he moves further through the group, ‘congratulations.’

‘I wish people would stop saying that _before_ the ceremony. I’m still waiting for something to go wrong,’ Steve groans.

Strange laughs. ‘If it is any consolation I have used the Time Stone to ensure all would be well today and there would be no disruptions.’

‘That….actually _does_ make me feel better. Thank you.’

‘I can’t say the same for disruptions from the team though.’

‘Yeah I guessed as much.’

‘Alright everyone may I have your attention please!’ the registrar calls over the noise. ‘Please can you all enter and take your seats. All those involved in the wedding party please stay out here.’

Everyone starts filing in, only Natasha, Sam and Bucky staying outside with him. There’s still no sign of the rest of the party: Pepper, Peter, Rhodey and, of course, Tony himself.

‘Shall we go in, Captain Rogers?’ the registrar asks him, she’s got a kind smile which Steve is immensely grateful for right now. ‘I believe Mr Stark shall be with us in a couple of minutes.’

‘Yeah,’ Steve nods and swallows. ‘Yeah let’s…let’s go in.’

‘Why don’t you guys go ahead? We’ll join you in a second,’ Bucky tells the others, waiting for them to go through the doors before turning to Steve. ‘You alright, Stevie?’

‘I’m nervous as hell, Buck. What if I screw up? What if he decides I screwed up too much in the past and he decides he can’t trust me anymore? What if-’

‘-you know it’s really annoying I can’t punch you because it’s your wedding day.’

‘Bucky!’

‘Oh come off it, Stevie. Why are you overthinking this? You are absolutely crazy about him. I knew you were crazy about him before everything with Thanos happened. You weren’t the same after we left Siberia, it was like you left a part of you behind somewhere. And anyone who has seen you together in the past year knows how crazy he is over you. _Look_ at me, Stevie,’ Steve sighs and pulls his gaze up from his shoes to look into the earnest eyes of his best friend, ‘you deserve this, you _both_ do. Stop second guessing yourself and for once in your life let something good happen to you, alright?’

Steve gives him a small smile and nods. ‘Yeah, thanks Bucky.’

‘Well you aren’t supposed to still be out here.’ They turn to see a smiling Pepper Potts, hands on her hips and shaking her head as the rest of the wedding party follows her. She’s in the same dress as Natasha and she looks just as stunning.

‘Err…oops?’ Bucky offers.

Tony laughs. ‘Why don’t you guys go in? Steve and I’ll come in after.’

‘Aren’t you supposed to be coming in separately though?’ Peter points out.

‘Hey it’s my wedding day I can do what the hell I like.’

‘You say that about most days but with the excuse you’re paying for it,’ the teenager points out.

‘Just get in there, kid,’ Tony laughs, pushing him forwards. Rhodey, Bucky, Pepper and Peter all walk in, leaving Steve and Tony in the hallway.

‘I thought we weren’t supposed to see each other until the ceremony?’ Steve says, trying to catch his breath.

‘Well its close enough,’ Tony smiles, taking a few steps closer so he’s now close enough for Steve to reach out and touch him.

‘You look…Tony you look incredible,’ he says, taking in the perfect cut of Tony’s suit, his perfectly styled hair, and the teasing smile on his face that makes Steve’s knees go weak.

‘So do you. Come here, soldier,’ he replies, stepping closer yet again to undo Steve’s tie and retie it.

‘Sam did it for me, my fingers were shaking too badly,’ he admits.

Tony laughs. ‘It didn’t really need doing I just like doing it. Kind of been my excuse for getting close to you for years, couldn’t really let today be any different could I?’

‘ _That’s_ why you always redid my tie?’ 

Tony presses a soft kiss to his lips, Steve’s hands automatically going to his waist. ‘Took you long enough. Now come on, soldier, it’s _way_ past time we got hitched.’

Steve laughs. ‘We’re going in together then I take it?’

Tony puts his arm through Steve’s. ‘Wouldn’t have it any other way.’

‘Me neither,’ he says, kissing Tony once more before leading them through the doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Come on guys! Did you really think I was going to kill Tony?? Also: I definitely got guilt tripped into posting this early because apparently I've upset people too much.   
> Please let me know what you think! I'll try not to do quite so many horrible heart breaking moments in the future.
> 
> Love always,  
> L x
> 
> Next story:  
> The next special in Another Chance series featuring a poker game and a long-needed chat between Bucky, Steve and Tony about their memories of the Howling Commandos.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi everyone. I'm back with yet another Stony - because I am going down with this ship no matter how much I love the others.  
> Hope you've all enjoyed this first chapter, as always please do let me know what you think.  
> Hope you're all staying safe out there!  
> Love always,  
> L x
> 
> As always here's your sneak peek:  
> ‘Tony!’  
>  ‘Mr Stark!’  
>  ‘No!’  
>  There’s lots of shouting, lots of noise as he hits the ground. He rolls, the movement making the knife dig deeper into his stomach, pulling it across to rip more muscle. He thinks he hears a grunt and the sound of something hitting the ground, but he’s face down in the dirt.   
>  Then there’s hands on him, rolling him onto his back. His head is being held by someone and there’s more shouting. His stomach is on fire and it gets worse when he coughs.


End file.
